J-K Assembly ruckus over Article 370 resolution; BJP says ‘darkest day of democracy’

SRINAGAR: Ruckus ensued in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Friday, the third day in a row, after People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA from Kupwara exhibited a banner in support of the restoration of Article 370 in the Union Territory.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs raised slogans and clashed with fellow members, including Engineer Rashid’s brother and Awami Ittehad Party MLA Sheikh Khursheed over a banner he was carrying. BJP MLAs were seen entering the well of the House along with Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh and were been marshalled out of the House on the orders of Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather.

During the session, several slogans were raised against PDP by BJP MLAs and MLA Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh. BJP MLAs also raised slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ in the House. Reacting to the ruckus, J-K LoP Sunil Sharma termed it as the “darkest day in the democracy”. He accused Assembly Speaker of behaving as the ‘Speaker of National Conference’, instead of the House.

#WATCH | Srinagar | BJP MLAs raise slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ in Jammu & Kashmir Assembly as ruckus erupts in the House after PDP MLA from Kupwara shows a banner on the restoration of Article 370 pic.twitter.com/zXC1rldxnV

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2024

Sharma alleged that the Speaker wanted to “suppress” the voice of the opposition. “This is the darkest day in J&K’s democracy. For the last three days, the Speaker, who is believed to be the custodian of the House, has been implementing martial law, behaving as the speaker of the National Conference. They want to suppress the voice of the opposition,” Sharma said.

As uproar erupted over the restoration of Article 370, opposing the resolution, LoP Sharma said that the Assembly is not bigger than Parliament and the Supreme Court and there cannot be debate on this topic. After BJP MLAs were marshalled out of the House, Sharma said that they (the opposition) would run a parallel Assembly against the speaker outside the House.

He said, “We believe that all these actions are unlawful, undemocratic and unconstitutional. The resolution (to restore Article 370) was drafted by the Speaker himself. We want them to take it back. Article 370 is a history, it can’t be debated now. This Assembly is not bigger than Parliament and the Supreme Court. We wanted to have a debate — about the way our MLAs were manhandled by the marshals at the direction of the Speaker, they did this today as well. We will now sit here on protest to run a parallel assembly which is against the Speaker”.

On November 6, a ruckus erupted in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly over a resolution on the restoration of Article 370. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary had demanded the resolution, but Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma objected to it.

The first session of the newly elected assembly in Jammu Kashmir kick-started on November 4 with the introduction of a resolution opposing the revocation of Article 370 and restoring the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Amid the ruckus, the resolution was passed on Wednesday by a voice vote, with all parties barring the BJP supporting it.

An uproar erupted on that when PDP (People’s Democratic Party) leader Waheed Para, representing the Pulwama constituency introduced a resolution against the revocation of Article 370 and to restore the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. However, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah stated that the resolution was introduced merely “for the cameras” and holds no real significance. He added that if there had been a genuine intention behind the resolution, it should have been discussed with the National Conference.

Notably, the restoration of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood as well as the implementation of the autonomy resolution was one of the main promises made by the National Conference in its manifesto for the Jammu-Kashmir elections. The first session of the new assembly will conclude today.

In the last Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election, the Congress-National Conference alliance won 49 seats out of 90. The BJP won 29 seats in the election. The Assembly election was held after a gap of 10 years and since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. NC leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on September 16. (ANI)